About the NGDRS

The expected users of a geoscience data repository run the gamut from private petroleum companies, service companies, data brokers, and consultants to public government agencies and universities. All of these stakeholders require easy access to geoscience and engineering data. Certain stakeholders are primarily data providers, others are data consumers, and some are data service providers. In many cases, each stakeholder may take on all three roles.

Petroleum and mining companies want to donate a large volume of geoscience and engineering data to the public domain in those geographical areas where, at present, they have no commercial interest. Their principal motivation is cost reduction. Since those areas, however, may again become commercially viable prospects in the future, companies want to retain access rights to the data donated.

State and federal agencies would like to use the data being offered for donation by the petroleum and mining companies to stimulate the local petroleum and mining activities for generation of future royalties. The new data sources are also helpful for conducting new resources assessment evaluations.

Service companies view the NGDRS as a new marketing channel for data sales and possibly data distribution. They are interested in displaying, advertising, selling, and possibly distributing their data using the Internet-based browser/catalog with its powerful networking and electronic commerce capabilities.

Universities view the NGDRS as a source of geoscience information entering the public domain for the first time. The combination of many new data sources from a variety of repositories enhances support of advanced multi-disciplinary research projects within the academic environment.

The data consumers, on the other hand, need to have easy access to information on the availability of the geosciences and engineering data. They require simple, but effective, information technology access to data using a well-structured index or catalog of the data. Data consumers also need access to be based on widely used, readily-available computer platforms. Finally, data consumers require data accessibility using the latest and most cost-effective networking capabilities, such as those provided by the Internet.

The market environment created by the concentration of NGDRS geosciences and engineering data will offer new and expanding business opportunities for private sector entrepreneurs. A plethora of ideas may arise on how to improve the value of the data through reprocessing with state-of-art signal processing and re-interpretation using modern workstations. A secondary market in re-selling the enhanced information is expected to evolve. The results created by these activities will lead to new exploration opportunities in the United State in addition to new job opportunities in the expanding service business.

The following have been identified as the NGDRS' key strategic objectives:

• Encourage the widest participation of existing geoscience data repositories as possible. The larger the number of participating repositories, the more valuable the overall data content of the NGDRS.
• Share and exchange plans and knowledge with stakeholders. This openness is aimed at making the NGDRS a winning proposition for all.
• Interface and share with similar projects worldwide the efforts related to planning, development, and implementation of the repository. This collaboration will streamline the implementation and reduce cost for everyone.
• Adopt commonly used standards for all aspects of the system, giving strong preference to industry adopted standards. This will help control costs and schedules and will provide users with common access to data. Furthermore, systems and technologies based on standards tend to have a longer life cycle and a better return on investment.

The goal of the NGDRS is to preserve and make geoscience and engineering data readily accessible to those who have an interest in using such data. Achieving this goal requires:

• the careful management of data transfer from data providers to the public domain
• the creation of an information system organization and infrastructure to allow data consumers to effectively find and access the data sources

The following key principles were developed in support of the processes mentioned above:

• NGDRS management will develop the support of industry, academia, and government entities to preserve large volumes of geoscience data in danger of being discarded or destroyed.
• The repository systems will reduce costs of data preservation by sharing information, repository facilities and taking advantage of economies of scale.
• A centrally managed Metadata Repository is being established and connected to a network of existing decentralized data repositories.
• Data already on the public domain will have improved accessibility.
• All private-sector data that is donated and transferred to the public domain will be made publicly accessible.
• Data contributions that conform to agreed-upon industry standard data models will be accepted first.
• All participating repositories will be assisted in their move to the POSC industry standards thus eliminating unwarranted data formatting operations.

The NGDRS supercatalog is oriented primarily to the practitioner (geoscientist and engineers) that need access to the data available in geoscience databases. We have therefore assumed the user has knowledge of fundamental requirements and mode-of-operation of the related disciplines (geology, geophysics, petroleum engineering, petrology, etc.). For example, data types pertinent to the way the upstream petroleum industry works (such as cores, well logs, well test data, seismic data, etc.) are assumed to be part of the vocabulary of the primary audience. Furthermore system interaction with all those data types (either surface or sub-surface) is done via a geographic information systems (GIS) user interface, a common practice in the industry. Both the web site and the front-end web-enabled GIS browser (GeoTrek^TM) are oriented to the primary audience.